Between Jonathan and past leaders

 by Kunle Oderemi 

POLITICS, perhaps, brought President Goodluck Jonathan and former president, Olusegun Obasanjo together. It brought them under the common umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP]. The relationship blossomed as the party consolidated its grip on the central government. The painful and sudden passage of Obasanjo’s political son and successor, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, as president, paved the way for the former army general to assert his political clout once again. He mustered the necessary support that culminated in Jonathan moving from the position of vice president to his current exalted office.   
It was because of the roles Obasanjo played on the two occasions that he is considered as the godfathers of both Yar’Adua and Jonathan.  His supporters and admirers boasted that it was a confirmation of Obasanjo’s power and authority on the nation’s political lever. But it did not take long before the bubble literally burst between Obasanjo and Yar’Adua, primarily over state policies and direction of events. The loyalists of Obasanjo claimed the deceased embarked on some policy somersaults, ostensibly to discredit their principal.  A similar cold war appears to be brewing between the Ota, Ogun State farmer and the incumbent president. Though the presidency seems to be playing down insinuations about such a rift, the altercations between the two camps are indications of a frosty affair after the sacred marriage that resulted in the Jonathan presidency in 2011.
 In the last few weeks, Obasanjo had taken up the government over its approach to the security issue in parts of the North and the impact of the Jonathan administration’s economic policies and programmes. On November 11, the former leader had decried the rate of youth unemployment in the country, claiming that the situation was worrisome as his regime had succeeded in reducing it youth unemployment to 52 per cent from 72 during his tenure.  Obasanjo had, at another time, complained over what he perceived as the improper management of Nigeria’s foreign reserves.
But the criticism by Obasanjo of the Jonathan administration that has provoked more anger from official quarters was his analogy of the present security crisis in the North, with the one that informed his administration’s deployment of troops to Odi in Bayelsa State during his tenure, following the killing of soldiers in the community by suspected Niger delta militants.  
In all the circumstances, the president had been tactful in responding to Obasanjo’s comments on his  leadership style and administration, save for the one in which the former leader technically suggested the Odi option in tackling the Boko Haram insurgency in the North. While Jonathan gave clarifications on why his administration is doing certain things differently, some of his aides who could not maintain dignified silence, have avoided possible open confrontation with Obasanjo. For example, the president’s Special Assistant on Political Affairs, Malam Ahmed Gulak, last Friday, called for moderation and caution from the critics of the president, especially past leaders. He stated: “They have had their opportunities to rule this country before. Some did eight years, some 12 years, some were there for seven years, they had their own bits. Therefore, what we are saying is that, they should be elder statesmen; give advice from the sides, not to dabble into creating crisis within the system.”
Another former leader, who has consistently chosen to openly criticise the Jonathan administration is Major General Muhammadu Buhari, the standard bearer of the Congress for Progressive Change [CPC] in the 2011 presidential election. He has continued to stay away from official engagements that should naturally bring him into the midst of other Nigerian leaders: present and past.
The revisit of the Odi massacre by Obasanjo appears to have brought another former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon into the picture. Gowon asked that Jonathan be left alone to tackle, his own way, the security challenge, recalling that his administration faced a similar security problems in his days. He chastised Obasanjo over the military operations in Odi and Zaki Biam, saying that, “Obasanjo highly irresponsible to have made such comments about the present government. Many people have condemned what he did in Odi and Zaki -Biam. So it was irresponsible for him to defend it or accuse the present administration. He added, “I am not saying that the government should not be criticized when it is doing wrong. But we should not say or do things that will cause more tension and confusion in our land.”
Observers do not agree on the current approach of Obasanjo in his engagement with the government. Some say he ought to explore all formal channels open to him and Buhari,  given their status as  Nigeria’s former leaders. They cite the National Council of states as one of those channels where they could engage in constructive criticisms and offer suggestions on official policies and programmes.  But other observers saw nothing wrong in such open criticisms similar to the action of the opposition parties. To them, criticism is part of what makes democracy vibrant.
NigerianTribune